Om Ahmed is a role model for the women in her community. Not only is she highly influential, but she’s called the leader by her neighbors.

It’s not hard to see why—this grandmother never stops. Each morning, she slips on her sneakers and her traditional embroidered dress and goes for a walk on the seashore. In the afternoons, she spends time with her grandsons. And in between, she’s leading a women’s initiative to bring health and hygiene to her water-scarce community.

To encourage youth in rural areas of Lebanon to contribute to their communities and address social problems, ANERA is giving teens the chance to take charge.

The aim is to help youth bring their own innovative solutions to life, by providing financial as well as logistical support. These initiatives positively affect youth by sharpening their job and life skills and offering platforms to prove themselves.

In response to this crisis, ANERA is reaching refugees and impoverished host communities through a variety of job skills training courses that boost employability among the most vulnerable segments of the population.

My childhood was the most beautiful time of my entire life. I used to spend my time playing in the alleys of Arroub refugee camp, my home in the West Bank. Despite the camp’s uncovered sewage canals, poor lighting and dusty, unpaved streets, life was not complicated. My neighbors and I made a playground of the narrow streets and the surrounding vineyards and fields. Back then, we had no worries of what tomorrow would bring. How beautiful and simple was that time, in comparison to what today’s children are forced to endure.

But fields need water and in Palestine, water is both the dilemma and the solution. The scarcity of water in the West Bank, particularly, has inspired us at ANERA to think creatively. Why not make use of a non-traditional source of water that just recently became available in Palestine—recycled wastewater?

Editor’s note: The post below was originally published by American Near East Refugee Aid. ANERA serves Palestinian refugees and poor communities in Gaza, the West Bank and Lebanon, and is a partner of Direct Relief. The post appeared on ANERA’s site on July 13, 2017.

Throughout the world, prematurity is the leading cause of death in children under five. About one million babies die from preterm birth complications each year.

Gaza has long suffered from a severe electricity shortage, but this summer it has reached a breaking point. Now the residents of Gaza get only two to three hours of power per day, if they get any at all.

In Nahr El Bared camp, a community-based recycling project is better for the environment and for scavengers like Ayman.

Ayman’s typical day starts at 6 A.M. With his wagon in hand, he heads to the waste dumping sites of Nahr El Bared Palestinian refugee camp to search for recyclables. He can count on filling his wagon with recyclables by early afternoon. He’ll stop for a quick lunch with his wife and children, and then head out for a second round. By sunset, his day is done, and he’ll have found a treasure trove of recyclable trash.

Om Ahmed is a role model for the women in her community. Not only is she highly influential, but she’s called the leader by her neighbors.

It’s not hard to see why—this grandmother never stops. Each morning, she slips on her sneakers and her traditional embroidered dress and goes for a walk on the seashore. In the afternoons, she spends time with her grandsons. And in between, she’s leading a women’s initiative to bring health and hygiene to her water-scarce community.

As a mother of three young children, Fatima Badran is no stranger to colds and infections. However, when her youngest child’s symptoms were not improving, she decided to take time off from work and go to the charitable clinic in her town for a quick check-up.

In the northern village of Khirbet Daoud, not far from the Lebanese-Syrian border, lives Maamoun with his wife and two daughters. Maamoun is a Syrian farmer who owned a chicken farm business back in his hometown of Homs, Syria. Now his family lives in an informal tented settlement that used to be a farm of hen coops. It now accommodates 500 Syrian refugee families.

The ancient ruins of Baalbek are pictured on many a postcard from Lebanon. Just a short drive from Beirut, the city draws tourists from around the world. It’s nestled in the Bekaa Valley, a mountainous region known for its farms and vineyards.